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| Full name | Paul Deacon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1979-02-13)13 February 1979 (age 46) Wigan,Greater Manchester, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 12 st 11 lb (81 kg)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Scrum-half, Stand-off | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 28 December 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Deacon (born 13 February 1979) is an Englishrugby union coach who is the head coach of theSale Sharks inPremiership Rugby, and former a professionalrugby league footballer and coach.
AGreat Britain andEngland international representativestand-off orscrum-half, he played in theSuper League forOldham Bears, theBradford Bulls (who named him in their "Team of the Century", having won the2001,2003 and2005Super League Grand Finals, the2003 Challenge Cup, and the2002 World Club Challenge), and his home-town club, theWigan Warriors (with whom he won the2010 Super League Grand Final and2011 Challenge Cup).
Deacon followed this with becoming a member of Wigan's coaching staff, working closely with managerShaun Wane.
Hailing fromStandish nearWigan, a formerHindley amateur, Deacon made his senior professional début four days before his 18th birthday as a substitute forOldham in a 48–6Challenge Cup fourth round home victory overRochdale Hornets on 9 February 1997. He made only four appearances for Oldham before moving to the Bradford Bulls.
Deacon scored a try and goal on his début for the Bradford Bulls atscrum-half in a 36–10 Super League home victory overHuddersfield Giants on 28 June 1998. Deacon played for theBradford Bulls from the interchange bench in the1999 Super League Grand Final which was lost toSt. Helens.
He went on to be one of Bradford Bulls' key players, a superb organiser with a tremendous kicking game. Deacon played for theBradford Bulls from the interchange bench in their2001 Super League Grand Final victory against theWigan Warriors. AsSuper League VI champions, the Bradford Bulls played against2001 NRL Premiers, theNewcastle Knights in the2002 World Club Challenge. Deacon played atscrum-half, kicking eight goals and one field goal in Bradford Bulls' victory. Deacon played for theBradford Bulls atscrum-half, kicking three goals in their2002 Super League Grand Final loss againstSt. Helens. He was awarded theHarry Sunderland Trophy as grand final man-of-the-match despite being on the losing side.In the seasons of 2002 and 2003 Deacon's goal kicking percentage was near 80%. Deacon played for theBradford Bulls atscrum-half, kicking six goals and one drop goal in their2003 Super League Grand Final victory against theWigan Warriors. He also played for the Bradford Bulls atscrum-half in their2004 Super League Grand Final loss against theLeeds Rhinos.
Deacon played for theBradford Bulls atscrum-half, kicking three goal from five attempts in their2005 Super League Grand Final victory againstLeeds Rhinos. On 23 June 2006, Paul Deacon broke the record points scored for a Bradford Northern/Bradford Bulls player (1,834), which was previously held byKeith Mumby.[4]
In 2007 Paul became the Bradford Bulls captain taking over fromIestyn Harris. In August 2007 he was named in Bradford Bull'Team of the Century. In September 2007 Deacon reached 2,000 goals for the Bradford Bulls. In 2008 Deacon celebrated his testimonial year with the Bradford Bulls after 10-years of service for the Super League club. As well as a testimonial match against his hometown clubWigan Warriors in January, Paul Deacon's name also appeared on all away jerseys to commemorate his loyalty to the Bradford Bulls. On 16 April 2008 Paul signed a new 2-year contract until 2010. In November 2009, Deacon signed for Wigan after 11-years at the Bradford Bulls.[5]
Deacon appeared in his first Grand Final in 5-years by playing in the2010 Super League Grand Final victory overSt Helens atOld Trafford.[6]
Deacon played in the2011 Challenge Cup Final 28–18 victory over theLeeds Rhinos atWembley Stadium.[7][8]
Deacon woncaps for England while at the Bradford Bulls in 1999 against France (2 matches). Deacon played for England in their2000 World Cup campaign against Russia, Fiji, Ireland and New Zealand, and in 2001 against Wales. He was forced to rule himself out of contention for theEngland training squad for the2008 Rugby League World Cup through injury.[9]
For Great Britain he woncaps while at the Bradford Bulls in 2001 against France and Australia. He represented Great Britain in 2002 against New Zealand (3 matches), in 2003 against Australia (2 matches, plus 1 as sub). He played in the2005 Tri Nations against Australia and New Zealand (2 matches). Deacon was recalled for the Great Britain train-on squad for the 2007 test series with New Zealand, but pulled out due to injury.
Following his retirement from playing, Deacon joined Wigan's coaching staff where he remained for four years.[10]
In 2013, Deacon was appointed assistant toSteve McNamara at theEngland national rugby league team, just before the beginning of the2013 Rugby League World Cup.
In July 2015 it was confirmed that Deacon would switch codes and joinPremiershiprugby union sideSale Sharks as attack/skills coach.[11] He was promoted to head coach in December 2020 following the departure of director of rugbySteve Diamond.[12]
| Year | Club | Apps | Pts | T | G | FG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Bradford Bulls | 13 | 24 | 4 | 4 | - |
| 1999 | Bradford Bulls | 28 | 69 | 1 | 32 | 1 |
| 2000 | Bradford Bulls | 27 | 85 | 9 | 23 | 3 |
| 2001 | Bradford Bulls | 27 | 78 | 6 | 25 | 4 |
| 2002 | Bradford Bulls | 28 | 319 | 6 | 147 | 1 |
| 2003 | Bradford Bulls | 29 | 313 | 9 | 137 | 3 |
| 2004 | Bradford Bulls | 28 | 276 | 7 | 123 | 2 |
| 2005 | Bradford Bulls | 31 | 359 | 12 | 153 | 5 |
| 2006 | Bradford Bulls | 28 | 264 | 7 | 118 | - |
| 2007 | Bradford Bulls | 21 | 216 | 5 | 98 | - |
| 2008 | Bradford Bulls | 12 | 109 | 1 | 52 | 1 |
| Year | Team | Matches | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  England | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | England | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2001 | England | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2002 |  Great Britain | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2003 | Great Britain | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| 2004 | Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2005 | Great Britain | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
